No Rest for Salvation
by The Logical Ghost
Summary: Rated for drug content. Yami finds a spell to unlock awsome powers, but something went very wrong. Yugi, frightened and alone, turns to his best friend for support. But Joey has his own dark problems . . . R&R, please! CH. 2 UP!
1. Crossing the Line

This is an old story that I wrote and suddenly realized that I should probably post it, and see what happens. I was trying to pull away from my usual Joey-centric stuff and let Yugi share a little bit of the spotlight. I also wanted to see what happened if I gave Yami a REASON for having a seperate body, unlike all you people out there who just randomly give him one. Plot hole evil people! 

Anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, cause if I did the whole "Doma" series would die, right now, painfully. Please R&R, cause I have another two or three chapters written but I'm not going to write the end if no one cares. Flames will go to heat the popcorn, so feel free to contribute. Thanks!

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He ran. Ran blindly, not knowing when or even how to stop. He just ran, an automatic reaction to what had happened. Tears ran with him, blinding him and making trails down his face. When they reached the tiny cut, they stung, making him cry all the more. A few tiny droplets of blood fell from the cut, and at the sight of them, he ran harder.

Why? Why did he do that? Why would he do this . . . blame me for this . . . he knows I'm not responsible for this! How could I be?

His questions remained unanswered. The only person who could answer him wouldn't.

Yami.

It hadn't been easy, getting the spirit his own body. After all, bodies don't just walk up to you and say "Hi". Yami had found ways around that, with spells and mystical items. But the spells required certain things that could not be made with magic.

So Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu had each donated something according to Yami's instructions. Anzu had cut off some of her hair. Honda had given them a box of his old baby teeth. Yugi had carefully collected nail clippings for months. And Joey . . . he had volunteered to do his part. He said that none of the others would be able to do it properly, that they would end up putting themselves into a coma. He had the most experience, he argued. Honda tried to talk him out of it, but the blond had taken his friend aside to continue their talk, and when they came back, Honda had no more objections.

So Joey had given Yami blood. The memory of that still sent shivers down Yugi's spine, the way in which he'd stepped up to the potion and held his hand over it. He'd taken a switchblade out of his pocket – he was never without it, he couldn't be, with his history – and calmly nicked open a vein in his arm. After Yami had deemed there to be enough, he quickly wrapped a cloth around it and tied it tightly, a red stain appearing on the outside of the white fabric.

Yugi was ashamed of this, ashamed of himself. Joey was the one who'd risked the most, and now Joey was suffering the most. How did that work? How could Yami just stare so unemotionally at the person who had risked so much to give him life?

For that matter, how could he do this? Yugi reached up and touched his cheek gingerly.

Yami, though reborn, did not possess even a tenth of his former powers. The Pharaoh Yami had been a single entity, a combination of Yami and Yugi. Separated, they were unbalanced. So they had immediately set out, the two of them, to find a way to combine again. It was slightly ironic, but Yami insisted that that was the way it had to be done.

Looking back, Yugi realized that Yami hadn't even explained why they needed to do this. He had simply told them, over and over, that the Pharaoh needed to rise again. They had tried everything. Yugi had lugged all his toys from his own soul room into Yami's. They had tried to connect the two doorways using Shadow Magic. Nothing seemed to work.

That was when Yami found the scroll. An ancient papyrus, indicating exactly how the two could join together to form one. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with spells, but with tests. Ancient tests of loyalty, courage, and friendship. Most had involved pain. Some dealt with fear, and some with hatred. Many different things were tested, and Yugi and Yami passed them all.

Except, somewhere, they must have failed. Because they were still separate.

Yami had grown cold, almost bitter. He fell into a depression that even Yugi couldn't shake him out of. He became violent and temperamental, arguing and swearing all the time, casting angry glares that reminded people of Seto Kaiba.

And so it had come to this. Yugi's cheek stung from where Yami's hand had connected with his face, the nail leaving the tiny cut. What have I done? What could I possibly do to result in this? Maybe I'm just weak . . . weak and useless, like Yami thinks . . .

Not watching where he was going, he ran into something solid. It seemed to be blue and white, and warm, too. He backed up a little, hoping that whoever it was would leave him alone.

But he felt hands on his shoulders. "Whoa, Yug, wha-" The voice cut off. Yugi refused to face the blond, who kneeled down to look Yugi in the eye. "What's wrong?" asked the last person Yugi wanted to talk to right now.

Joey's eyes traveled over Yugi's face, his red eyes, tears streaming down, his body trembling from the sobs he refused to let go of. Brown eyes widened as the tiny cut and red cheek formed a simple answer to his question.

"He hit you." Yugi still refused to look up, instead trying to wriggle out of Joey's grip. He expected Joey to jump up and run back down the hall, maybe try to hit Yami back. Instead, he felt the blond teen guiding him into the boy's bathroom and picking him up gently, sitting him down on the counter beside the mirror. Blinking away some of his tears, he began to see clearly again. The expression on Joey's face was completely unreadable as he grabbed a handful of paper towels and ran them under warm water. Turing, he held out the towels, and Yugi accepted them gratefully.

Joey leaned against the counter and stared off into the distance, his mind obviously somewhere else for the moment. Wiping the blood and tears from his face, his thoughts calmed and his mind began to form coherent questions. "Joey?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Joey smiled a little and nodded. "Any time." He paused, then pushed himself up onto the counter about a foot away from Yugi. "You want to talk about it?"

"I don't know . . . ," Yugi started hesitatingly.

Joey's smile widened. "It's hard, the first time, I know. But it helps to talk to someone about it." When Yugi didn't speak, he continued. "You want to know something, Yug?"

Yugi nodded. He could listen to the blond, even though he couldn't talk to him yet.

"The first time someone hits you, it's not about the pain here –" he touched his face, "- but here." He moved his hand down over his chest, to symbolize his heart. "It's a shock, realizing that the person would actually hurt you, and of their own free will, too. Especially if that person seems like the kind of person who doesn't like to hurt other people."

Purple eyes blinked a few times, and there was a short silence before Yugi responded. "Is this how it felt when . . . when your dad first . . ."

Joey nodded. "Yep." There was a short silence before Joey went on. "The first question that runs through your mind is why. Sometimes it's kind of obvious, but sometimes it isn't. Then you start wondering about what you're going to do about it. A lot of times, if you just wait for a while, the other person will apologize. But sometimes, they don't."

Yugi could hear how Joey's voice hardened as he spoke those words, and wondered whom Joey was thinking about – his father or Yami. They sat in silence for a little longer, both letting their thoughts drift towards different things, neither wanting to break the silence.

The smaller boy was having a mental battle with himself, wondering whether he should tell Joey what he thought, or just keep quiet. Maybe Joey could tell him what he should do . . .

"Joey . . ."

"Yeah, Yug?"

"Why do you think Yami hit me?"

Joey sighed. "At first, I'm sure Yami was just mad that the ceremony didn't work, but now I think he's past that. He's given up, kinda, he just wants to move on. But you're a living, breathing reminder that he failed. You know what I mean? Like the way you want to burn a test you got a bad grade on, so there's no evidence you ever screwed up?"

Yugi nodded slowly, taking this in. "So – I'm like an essay he got an F on?" Joey nodded. They sat in silence for a little longer, as the lunch bell rang. Yugi looked up, but Joey showed no sign of moving. "You should –"

"I can skip Gym class today." The blond just sat there, his gaze drifting from the floor, to Yugi, to the mirror, and back again. As they sat there in silence, Yugi's thoughts turned more and more away from Yami and more towards Joey.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Then, why does your dad hit you?"

By the sudden jerk, Yugi could tell that he'd surprised Joey. The taller teen bit his lip for a moment, blinking rapidly. He opened his mouth, as if to start something, and then closed it again with a sigh. "To tell you the truth, I think he doesn't even know it's me half the time. He thinks I'm mom. The divorce really pushed him over the edge."

"And the other half of the time?" he ventured.

Joey was silent for a few seconds, staring off into the distance, before he answered. "Drugs to terrible things to people, Yug, and alcohol's one of the cheapest drugs there is."

There was something in the way Joey said the first part of the sentence – 'Drugs do terrible things to people' – that seemed to imply some hidden meaning, some person besides Mr. Jonouchi. But, since Yugi couldn't think of anyone else he knew who took drugs, he decided that Joey must have seen a lot of things while he was in his middle school gang.

Tossing the paper towels into the garbage can, he jumped down from the counter and attempted a smile. "Thanks, Joey. I feel a lot better now."

The taller blond grinned and hopped down as well. "Anytime. Listen, if Yami starts getting violent, you come to me, ok? You know where to find me."

Yugi nodded and held open the bathroom door. "Come on, Joey, we have to get to class!"

TBC . . .


	2. Desperation

Sorry, this is a short chapter! I just wanted to leave this nice little cliffe for you all while I work on the next one, instead of the more positive ending on the first chapter. Usually, chapters will be longer than this, I promise. 

Thanks to Tweak McFreak and Sukara-Nodori for their kind reviews!

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He couldn't take it anymore, he just couldn't. Insults, all those cruel words aim at him . . . was that how Yami truly felt? Was that his dark's opinion of him? Was that that truth?

Was he useless?

He ran, not knowing where he went to, not caring, as long as it was away from his home. He had the vague idea of going to Joey's apartment, but in his confusion he was instantly lost. In the growing darkness, normally placid items seemed to loom up out of the shadows.

Rain poured down from the sky like a waterfall, and he began to cough.

His hands scrambled around his neck until he remembered that he no longer wore a Millennium Puzzle.

Plunging into an unknown alley, he began to drown in nightmares.

A Ryu-Ran popped up out of nowhere.

A Harpy's Pet Dragon stuck its head out into his path.

A La Jinn, Mystic Genie of the Lamp tried to crush him in its grip.

A Blue Eyes White Dragon reared up in front of him, the beginnings of a White Lightning Attack forming in its maw, aimed straight at him.

Suddenly, a voice came out from the darkness, and he crashed into something – no, someone.

"Whoa!"

"S-s-s-s-s-sor-"

"Calm down, kid. Something wrong?" The voice seemed soft, almost comforting. It was a nice voice.

He swallowed and tried to speak again. "I-I think I'm l-l-lost," he started, but was interrupted.

"Lost? You must not be from around here, then. Where do you live?" About to give the name of the Kame Game Shop, he suddenly stopped, remembered why he'd been running in the first place, and stuttered incoherently. "That's ok. We'll help you out, kid. What's your name?"

"Y-y-y-ugi."

Someone had turned on a flashlight, and two faces appeared. They seemed to be boys only a few years older than Yugi. If anyone had asked him at the moment, he might have said they were around eighteen.

The one he'd run into smiled and spoke again. "Here. Take my hand."

He hesitated only a moment before sliding his hand into the older boy's, and they began to walk slowly down the alley.

The whole time, the other boy asked questions. Did Yugi have any family? No. Any friends? Yes, one, but he couldn't find him. Any money? A little . . . Was he hungry? Yes. Did he want a granola bar? Yes, please! Was he feeling alright? A little dizzy.

He soon found out that the one he was talking to was Reki, and the other was Unshai. The latter seemed a bit reluctant about the whole thing, until Yugi pulled out what money he'd taken from his piggy bank, and then he grudgingly accepted the idea of Yugi coming along to wherever they were going.

It turned out to be an old abandoned bar. Several people were sitting or standing around the old, beat-up furniture, and a few were playing pool. The bar was mostly intact, but there was no sign of liquor. A couple of older boys, about Reki and Unshai's age, were standing around the bar, talking in low voices.

"Hey, look what I found! He says he's lost," Reki said, bringing Yugi over to the bar and helping him up onto a stool.

Unshai added, "He got a granola bar," and held up the money.

Glances were exchanged. "How old is he?"

"Fifteen. And he says he's got no family."

More glances, and then murmured discussion between all of the older boys. Still munching on the granola bar, Yugi's head began to clear. As he looked around, he saw that there was a trickle of people coming in and out of a door near the bar. He guessed it was a bathroom, because they went in looking worried and came out looking much better. Then he noticed the long amount of time it took for people to come out after they'd gone in.

Well, he thought to himself, perhaps there's a long line.

The boys seemed to have come to a decision, because Reki came back over. "Hey, Yugi. How're you feeling?"

"Much better . . . thank you very much!" he answered.

Reki nodded. "Good, good . . . listen, Yugi, my friends and I have been talking things out, and we've decided to let you stay here for a while."

"Really? Thank you-"

". . . but you have to do something for us. That okay with you?"

Yugi nodded again and hopped off the stool. Reki took his hand again and led him towards the door by the bar . . .

The front door opened and someone exclaimed, "Hey, Jonouchi! Didn't think we'd see you again so soon!"

TBC . . .


	3. Unexpected

Okay, I know I haven't updated in forever. I kind of forgot about this story, since no one responded . . . except joeyluver-dragonofra and Masami Mistress Of Fire, thank you! Anyway, I'm going to give this one more shot, now that the character-sorting system's up. If people review, I will continue! I promise! Flames welcome, too!

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And an all-too familiar voice replied, "Yeah, family – HOLY SHIT! YUGI!" Before he could turn around, the blond had stepped between Reki and the door. "Yug! What do you think you're doing?"

Yugi blinked, startled. "I was trying to find your apartment, but I got lost, and Reki said I could stay here. I'm doing him a favor –"

Before he could finish, Joey'd grabbed Reki by the shirt. "You dirty –"

"He said yes, Jonouchi. Now get the hell away from me and out of here."

"He doesn't know what he's doing. Let him go."

The other boys surrounded them, and one Yugi didn't know said, "Don't interfere with business, Jonouchi. 'Sides, he said he was alone."

"He's just got a family problem. A big one."

"So he is alone. Get your stuff and leave."

"Not without my friend," He glared down the older teens and started to raise his fists. Yugi looked around. If it came down to a fight, not even Joey could punch through the huge guys around them.

In a quiet voice, he whispered, "Please, Joey, what's going on?"

Joey dropped his stance and knelt on the floor, looking his friend in the eyes. "Listen to me, Yug. These guys aren't your friends. You can't go in there."

The emotion in his friend's eyes and voice began to clear up the mess of feelings Yugi had been lost in since that afternoon. "But . . . they're very nice. They said they were going to help me." Out of nowhere, anger spouted. "They're a lot nicer than you were when we first met."

Joey nodded. "Go ahead, Yug. If it helps, you can think about that. I promise, you can hate me later, okay? But remember our friendship. Please. You have to trust me."

"They gave me a granola bar," Yugi insisted, still not thinking clearly.

Joey stared at it for a moment, and Yugi swore he could see tears beginning to form in the brown eyes. "Yug, that thing has –"

"Say the word and you're dead," Unshai interrupted. "You know the rules."

"– bad stuff in it," Joey finished, sending a split-second glare towards the taller teen. "They're trying to trick you into thinking that they're your friends. Please, Yug, you have to trust me on this."

Yugi frowned to himself, trying to get the meaning of the words through his dazed mind. Reki patted his hand. "This idiot doesn't know what he's talking about, Yugi. We're your friends. Your new friends."

Yugi began to nod, then shook his head, then nodded, putting a hand up to his head. "I-I don't feel so good . . ."

"Yug." The tone in Joey's voice managed to focus Yugi's attention. "You have to trust me when I say this. You don't want to do this, Yug. If we've ever been friends, if we ever trusted each other at all, if we ever did anything for each other, you have to trust me on this. If you never want to see me again – if you ever doubt my judgment on this, then you can hate me all you want. After this, you can hate me for all eternity. But please, Yug, just trust me on this. Please, Yug."

Yugi had stopped blinking, and was just staring at Joey, kneeling, one hand held out towards the shorter teen. The sincerity in his voice and eyes made its way through the emotions that had began to build up since the day Yami got his body, and touched a small, frightened boy, who would have preferred to see Joey and these punks play a Duel Monsters game instead of threaten each other with fists. He didn't hear Reki's comments, or see the glances the strange teens exchanged.

"Trust me."

Yugi pulled his hand from Reki's grip, placing the other hand, along with the half-eaten granola bar, in Joey's. The blond curled his fingers around Yugi's and stood, once again glaring at Reki.

"He's made his decision. Now I think we'll take your advice and leave."

As they walked through the crowd and the front door, Yugi heard Unshari's voice – "Fine. But don't expect to just waltz back in here tomorrow, Jonouchi."

When they got outside, Joey put the granola bar in his pocket and checked Yugi's temperature. "I think you're sick, Yug. We need to get out of here. You mind if I carry you?" Yugi shook his head, a bit dazed, as his friend pulled off his jacket, draping it over Yugi's shoulders. In one smooth movement, he picked the smaller boy up off the ground, embracing him like an infant he was rocking to sleep. Joey hunched over him as he ran through the rain, and Yugi found himself huddling into the meager warmth of his friend's shirt. As he adjusted to the cold, he felt as if he was getting warmer, and he snuggled, bordering on the edge of sleep.

And then they walked through a door, and a familiar bell rang, and he heard his name exclaimed by several people simultaneously, followed by a few repetitions of Joey's name.

As Joey put him carefully down on the couch, he heard voices above him, but didn't pay much attention to them as he finally fell asleep.

_ TBC . . . _


End file.
